calzones

Did you leave your house in the wee hours of the morning to brave Black Friday? I did. Boy, was I glad to come back home and enjoy these tasty treats.

ingredients

4 cups high gluten flour

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons yeast

1 tablespoon garlic salt (I used a roasted gray salt that was infused with dried bits of garlic, kind of like this.)

2 teaspoon basil

2 teaspoon rosemary

1½ cups lukewarm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

preparation

1. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Combine the remaining ingredients in your stand mixer bowl, pour in the yeast mixture, and “stir” until a shaggy dough forms.

3. Increase the stand mixer speed to 2 and knead until a smooth and cohesive dough forms. If your dough seems dry, slowly add 1 tablespoon of water, waiting until the water is absorbed before adding more.  

4. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

5. Turn the dough out onto your counter top and divide it in half.  Now the fun begins. 

6a. To make calzones, lightly dust your counter top with semolina flour or cornmeal and turn the dough out onto your counter top.

6b. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle and generously spread your filling over the left side of the dough. For my calzones, I used meatballs, yellow pepper, mushrooms, and roma tomatoes. While the dough going through the first proof, I roasted the filling ingredients together over medium heat to cook out some of the water because no one wants a soggy bottom or worse yet, burned bread.

6c. Form a jelly roll, by rolling the rectangle together from the long side and cut it into 8 pieces. 

6d. Place the pinwheels in a parchment lined baking pan, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to double in size, about 1 hour.

6e. Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.

7a. To make a pizza, lightly dust your counter top with semolina flour or corn meal and turn the dough out onto your counter top.

7b. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 20 minutes.

7c. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

7d. Bake the pizza for about 15 minutes, until slightly browned but still pale.

7e. Remove the pizza from the oven and generously spread your filling evenly over the crust, taking care not include the liquid. For my pizza, I roasted salmon, asparagus, mushrooms, and roma tomatoes. I also sprinkled some gorgonzola on top.

7f. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15 more minutes. 

Original recipes found here and here.

fudgy chocolate cake

This decadent cake is easy to make, but sinfully delish.  And since you've probably been running here and there finishing your Thanksgiving errands, have second slice. You deserve it. :)

Yield: One cake
Active time: 5 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes
240 calories per serving, if cut into 16 pieces

ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 cup rice milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1½ cups hot coffee

preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In your stand mixer bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the coffee.

3. Mix on a speed of 2 or 3 until very well combined.  The batter will be VERY thick.

4. Pour the batter into a well-greased cake pan (or 9 by 13 baking dish), making sure the batter is evenly distributed, and then pour the coffee over the batter

5. Bake until the cake is set and bubbly around the bottom, about 40 minutes.

6. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving to allow the sauce to settle.

Original recipe found here.

rye bread

Yield: One loaf
3,015 calories per loaf
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 250 minutes

ingredients

4 cups rye flour

2 cups high gluten flour

2½ teaspoons yeast

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2½ teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

1/4 cup everything topping or sesame seeds (optional)

2 cups lukewarm water

preparation

1. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. In your stand mixer bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and “stir” to  until a shaggy dough forms.

3. Increase the stand mixer speed to 2 and knead until the dough comes together, about 7 minutes. The dough may seem sticky, but should be smooth. Because of the rye flour, the dough doesn't come together as cohesively as other varieties. 

4. Form the dough into a ball, place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside rise until very puffy, about 90 minutes.

5. Turn the dough out onto your counter top, shape into a log, and place it into a parchment lined loaf pan.

6. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until very puffy, about 90 minutes.

7. With about 30 minutes remaining in the final proof, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

8. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. If your loaf begins to brown too quickly, tent it. 

Original recipe found here.

oatmeal apple muffins

Yield: 12 muffins
130 calories per muffin
Active time: 5 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

ingredients

2 cups oats

1/3 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons nutmeg

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 egg

1 apple, finely chopped

preparation

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin with liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.

3. Stir until well mixed.

4. Spoon the batter evenly  into the muffin wells.

5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes clean, about 15 minutes. Because there isn't any fat (oil or butter) in these muffins, they brown quite quickly and may stick to the liners. If you have silicone muffins liners, I recommend using them.

Original recipe found here.

pumpkin craisin bread

A delectably moist bread, the final installment in the pure pumpkin puree recipe series is a great addition to your Thanksgiving Day dinner table. It is also totally scrumptious toasted and slattered with butter.

Yield: One large loaf
3,550 calories per loaf
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 240 minutes

ingredients

4¾ cups high gluten flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup brown sugar

1½ teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon yeast

1 cup pure pumpkin puree

2 large eggs

3/4 cup lukewarm  water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup craisins

preparation

1. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.

2. In your stand mixer bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, yeast mixture, and knead on 2 until a dough forms.  The dough may be a little sticky, but if it seems too wet you may need to add a little more flour.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to double in bulk, about 2 hours.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a log.

5. Place the log into a parchment lined loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until its very puffy, about 1 hour.

6. With about 30 minutes remaining in the final proof, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

7. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes.  

Original recipe found here.